[ProtegeManiac]

Well, that looks really shady....

That's ultimately up to you but if you check their products on this site there are already long threads there. The only problem really is if you get hit with taxes and if you have to deal with them in English instead of Mandarin - they're slow to respond since they have to go through an entire department of interpreters, unlike other brands that have country distros or at least have an office in HK. The thing is though the whole idea of skipping a middle man isn't that different considering Schiit does the same thing, except now they have middlemen in Europe and SEAsia.

Someone mentioned Modi 2 uber/magni 2 uber, is they actually really good?
For me they are 450€, more than I feel comfortable spending....

Well you can't get anything cheaper, except something you think is shady. Just check out prices and price-to-performance ratios on stuff sold by EU- and UK-based manufacturers.

 

[Danielbea122]

I use smsl sd793 for my x2s

 

[Mihle]

Why do you think it looks shady?

Their site look really shady.

The thing is though the whole idea of skipping a middle man isn't that different considering Schiit does the same thing, except now they have middlemen in Europe and SEAsia.

Well you can't get anything cheaper, except something you think is shady. Just check out prices and price-to-performance ratios on stuff sold by EU- and UK-based manufacturers.

Schiit doesnt look shady, it looks professional.
The price of it would become 400 €+ too probably, at that point I could just get schiit. What does it offer than schiit doesnt?

Is that one or schiit actually that much better than for example Micca origen+ or the others? or onboard?

 

[Music Alchemist]

Their site look really shady.

The design of a website tells you nothing of the quality of a company's products. Some companies put most of the effort into the products rather than the website. I'd be more wary of a company with a million dollar website and sub-par products. Anyway, Audio-gd has a good reputation on Head-Fi.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Their site look really shady.
----
Schiit doesnt look shady, it looks professional.

I didn't say Schiit looks shady, I'm saying they're both cutting middlemen so you don't tend to find their products through local dealers and they cut other things than the middlemen. Which in AudioGD's case is a good website designer and photographers who can make their products look good on screen.

Bottom line, that's up to you in the end, but if you don't like a company that totally cuts marketing expenses, then spend more.

 

[Mihle]

I didn't say Schiit looks shady, I'm saying they're both cutting middlemen so you don't tend to find their products through local dealers and they cut other things than the middlemen. Which in AudioGD's case is a good website designer and photographers who can make their products look good on screen.

Bottom line, that's up to you in the end, but if you don't like a company that totally cuts marketing expenses, then spend more.

Spend more than what? It would end up costing almost the same as schiit anyway.
So if they perform the same?

And no one have yet answered are they actually that much better than for example Micca origen+ or similar?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Spend more than what? It would end up costing almost the same as schiit anyway.

Schiit is among what I meant when I said spend "more." Like more than AudioGD, if not more than what you've budgeted. Because you were initially apprehensive about the price for Schiit, we gave you a slightly cheaper alternative, you shot it down for being sketchy, I said you have to spend "more" than AudioGD then.

So if they perform the same?

For the most part they do. But if the Schiits at that price point aren't the Uber versions, you don't get SPDIF inputs and no preamp output. NFB-11 has them. But AudioGD looks sketchy as hell, so you have to spend more than that.

And no one have yet answered are they actually that much better than for example Micca origen+ or similar?

It's USB-powered. If you have very high efficiency headphones limited power isn't a problem.

 

[Mihle]

For the most part they do. But if the Schiits at that price point aren't the Uber versions.

With VAT and shipping, AudioGD wont be that much cheeper than the ubers, Maybe 30€.

I just noticed that Micca Origen+ is not available in Europe or shipping to Europe..... well, exept for sellers on Ebay....

 

[Mihle]

SMSL does not ship to my country either...

 

[Mihle]

What about Odac and objective 2, are those good? how do they compare to the others?

 

[Music Alchemist]

What about Odac and objective 2, are those good? how do they compare to the others?

I would rank the OL DAC (improved ODAC and the only JDS Labs product I've owned) slightly higher than the Modi 2, but lower than the Modi Multibit.

 

[EricDH]

Does it have to be a desk top DAC/amp? Otherwise the Dragonfly Red is a nice choice for $200.

 

[Mihle]

I would rank the OL DAC (improved ODAC and the only JDS Labs product I've owned) slightly higher than the Modi 2, but lower than the Modi Multibit.

But thats JDS labs making it more expensive, especially when I am not in US probably even more expensive than Schiit.....

I was more looking as this with the RCA option (For my speakers)
http://www.headnhifi.com/o2-odac-combo
Tho, I havent checked if they actually ship to my country yet.

 

[Music Alchemist]

But thats JDS labs making it more expensive, especially when I am not in US probably even more expensive than Schiit.....

I was more looking as this with the RCA option (For my speakers)
http://www.headnhifi.com/o2-odac-combo
Tho, I havent checked if they actually ship to my country yet.

Yeah, I know that's what you were referring to, but unfortunately I have not used it.

Any of these options are going to sound fine in the context of gear in your price range. It's only when you get into higher price ranges that their limitations become more obvious.

 

[Mihle]

What about Aune X1S? Anyone know if its good or not?